The senior Minister for Gender, Labour and Social Development Betty Amongi Akena assured Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) supporters in Lira city and the entire country that it will be the party’s top leadership to guide on which presidential candidate the party will support in the January 2026 presidential polls.
She added that in Lira City, the announcement will be delivered to them through their Parish leadership and rallied them to wait for that declaration.
She told them not to follow statements made by the party president who is also her husband Jimmy James Akena not to support Museveni the National Resistance Movement (NRM) presidential candidate.
Amongi was supported by stalwart Minyang the Lira City UPC chairperson who mobilized their party supporters to vote for Museveni since they did not front a party candidate to contest for the position of president.
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Among said that on local and parliamentary level, the party voters should vote for UPC and make sure that they paint the entire Lango region red.
The ongoing disagreement has placed Akena in a hard political situation.
When he appeared on QFM’s morning radio talk show on Monday this week, he was tasked to guide the party supporters because his wife and other party leaders are telling voters that his announcements are not bidding.
Ono Bwino has established that last week, Akena’s family held a private meeting which was attended by himself, his wife and other Lira City party leaders at the home of their father Mzee Milton Obote the former president at Lira Senior Quarters.
Highly placed family sources told this website that the meeting was hot as Amongi tasked Akena to explain why he has decided not to support Museveni yet they entered into a political marriage.
Because of the pressure she put on him, it is reported that Akena stormed out of the meeting and drove off to Akokoro to cool off and rest.
Family sources told this website that the couple are now locked in a tit-for-tat power game, a situation which is threatening their shaky marriage as they both recently confirmed that they can spend weeks without physically meeting.
A section of UPC supporters accuse Amongi of catalysing the slow death of UPC by cozying up to the NRM because of the ministerial job president Museveni gave her.
Sources divulged that on several occasions, Amongi has been warning Akena to stop undermining President Museveni and curtail his secret dealings with other opposition strongman Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine) the National Unity Platform(NUP) presidential candidate who recently visited the burial ground of the late Akena’s father.
Akena was the first to visit Bobi Wine at his Magere home along Kampala-Gayaza Road and the duo discussed a number of issues including forming a political coalition against Museveni government.
Kira Municipality legislator Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda said that Akena is bitter with Museveni. He added that Akena joined Museveni after he convinced him that he was going to help him handle the political transition but whenever he asks him how far with the transition, he diverts him to other discussions.
